


Six Turtles and a Baby or Two

by kikide (SouthernWriter)



Series: Blended Family [5]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (Bay Movies), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Babies, Emotional neglect, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-24
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-16 19:14:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28961541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SouthernWriter/pseuds/kikide
Summary: Leo disappears.  Two infant turtles appear.  What is the correlation, and where did Leo go?
Relationships: Casey Jones/April O'Neil (TMNT)
Series: Blended Family [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1966627
Comments: 9
Kudos: 12





	1. Home at Last

**Author's Note:**

> I will admit, this is probably my least favorite of these stories. I feel like I lost the thread of the story about half way through. Still, if it's the last one in the series, so hopefully someone out there will enjoy it.

With a sigh, Leo sank down onto his bed. His very own bed in his very own room in, most important of all, his very own dimension. He and his brothers had just returned from what could be considered one of the darkest places Leo had ever seen; a world where the Darksiders had taken over and destroyed everything. Well, almost everything. Although it had been a very close thing, the alternate version of Leo’s family had managed to keep from being completely destroyed. Oh, they had their scars, and they certainly still their issues to work out, but at the very basic level they had come out on top.

After reuniting that family’s missing Donatello, Leo and his own brothers had escorted the older turtles to their new home in the world where Leo’s youngest set of brothers had originated. Just as the Bridger had promised his brothers back before they made their transition to Leo’s world of origin, the other dimension was a peaceful one. The war-hardened and scarred turtles would have the chance to heal and reconnect with each other. Leo had every hope that, in time, they would be able to put their pain behind them.

Now it was time for Leo’s own family to move forward in their lives. Which meant, much to his brothers’ dismay, it would soon be time to begin those team building exercises Leo had warned them about 4 (was it just 4?) days ago. Of course, that was just four days in this dimension. The truth was he and the others had been gone for several weeks. However, with the odd twists moving between dimensions caused on the way time flowed he and the others had returned four days following Donny and Donatello’s disappearance. 

Suddenly a noise at his door caught Leo’s attention, and he looked up to see a shadowed figure standing in his doorway. A quick touch to the figure’s mind revealed that it was Leo’s second younger brother watching him.

“Come on in, Raph,” Leo said quietly. “I’m not asleep.”

“Didn’t mean to intrude,” the younger turtle said as he moved farther into the room. “I just…”

“I understand,” Leo said when it became clear the other turtle wasn’t going to finish his thought. And he did; he could feel the confusion, uncertainty, and lingering fear rolling off his younger brother. It would seem their older counterparts were not the only ones adversely affected by the dark world they had inhabited. “Well, you might as well crawl up here and get comfortable,” the older turtle told Raph.

“I—“ Raph spluttered, but Leo just shook his head.

“Bro, we both know we all have some issues to work out after this latest ‘adventure.’ Might as well get started now.” Then Leo gave him a grin. “Besides, I have every notion the Brats are going to end up in here before morning, so you’re better off claiming your space now.”

But instead of climbing into bed, Raph just shook his head. “I shouldn’t have come,” he said with some disgust in his voice. He turned to leave, but Leo’s voice stopped him cold.

“Hold your shell right there Mr. Sour. What’s with the Raphael-attitude tonight?”

“I…” it was clear he was didn’t really want to admit to whatever he was feeling. A second look at Leo’s no-nonsense stance, however had him confessing, “It’s just that seeing how their Raphael and Leonardo treated each other, at least at first, well, I guess it dug up some old memories. Ghosts I thought were good and buried.”

With dawning understanding Leo hauled himself out of bed and moved to put an arm around his younger brother. “Raph, that’s all over now. And the only ghost you need to worry about around here would kick your shell if he knew you were moping about a past that is well put behind you.”

“But—“

“No ‘buts,’” Leo told him firmly. “Stop channeling Raphael and listen to your big brother. We’ve already worked through those issues. Barring some unforeseen cataclysmic incident, I doubt there is very little that could tear this family apart like that again.”

Raph wrapped his arms around Leo and hugged him tight. “I just couldn’t do it, Leo. I watched how much my older self was hurting, how much it tore him up to not have his older brother there, and I know I couldn’t do it. Maybe I’ve become too dependent, but I need you here.”

"Shhh,” Leo soothed, rubbing his brother’s shell. “I’m not going anywhere. And neither are you, so there’s nothing to worry about; except me kicking your butt for not letting me go to sleep. I don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted. So can we go to bed now?”

Raph laughed. “Sure, let’s get some sleep. After all, we wouldn’t want someone of your advanced years to fail to get his rest.”

“Yes, well, me and my ‘advanced years’ will show a thing or two. Tomorrow; after I’ve gotten some sleep.”

And as the two turtles snuggled down into the bed, Raph couldn’t help but revel in the comforting sensation of having his big brother at his side. He didn’t know what he would do if that ever changed, and he fervently prayed that he’d never have to find out.


	2. Oh, Baby!

Early the next morning the turtles were up and going. True to his word, Leo had his brothers performing a team building exercise. This exercise was unlike any the brothers had experienced before. Rather than the typical repetitions of katas and sparring Leo had them playing a game. With his brothers’ help he had secured everything breakable in the Lair, giving them nearly the entire space to use. The rules were simple. First, he had placed Raph and Raphael so that they were working with their opposite set of brothers. Each team had a set goal. The point of the game was to get the ball, which was actually a weight-filled tennis ball, into the other team’s goal. The catch was no one could hold the ball for more than three steps, and the other team could use whatever ninja skills they had to steal the ball away. Leo himself was the wild card. Since he was on neither team the younger turtles could never be certain if he was gong to help or hinder their progress, thus making him a moving, thinking obstacle to be avoided if at all possible. Needless to say, the brothers were having a blast.

As Leo stood off to the side to observe his brothers for a few moments he was pleased to see that the unconventional exercise seemed to be working. His brothers were getting better at anticipating each other’s moves, as well as their new speed and strength capabilities. Leo grinned to himself. Time to change things up.

Leo had just called his brothers together to reassign them when a visibly frantic Casey Jones entered the Lair, ushering in his _very_ pregnant wife. It only took a moment of observation to realize that April was very pregnant _and_ in labor.

“Uh, Casey, I think you took a wrong turn somewhere,” Donny ventured as he came to the same realization. “This isn’t the hospital.”

“No duh, genius,” Casey snapped back. “But we didn’t have a whole lot of options.”

“Hey, watch how you talk to my brothers you moron,” Raphael shot back. “And what do you mean you didn’t have a whole lot of options? There are at least three hospitals within driving distance of your apartment.”

“Yeah, and all of them are busy taking in casualties from the massive collisions on the freeway,” Casey shot back. “Believe me; I called all three. So it was either bring her here, or try to make it across town, through the snow and the backed-up traffic to the hospital on the other side of the city.”

“It was my decision, Donny,” April told him. “I knew that you had been boning up on birthing techniques and information, just in case. I figured we’d probably be better off coming here than trying to get across town. Especially since my contractions are about, oh, three minutes apart.”

“What,” Casey exclaimed. “You told me they were more than seven minutes apart!”

“Yes, and see how much, well relatively, calmer you stayed,” April shot back. “Now, why don’t you, Raph, and Raphael go find something to keep you occupied for the next several hours while Donny, Donatello, and I take care of business here?”

“No way,” Casey said obstinately. “That’s my kid, too. I’m going to be here when she’s born.”

“Casey,” April said with strained patience, “there is going to be screaming, name calling, and lots of rather disgusting bodily fluids. Do you really want to be here for all of that?”

Everyone could see the conflict on Casey’s face. His desire to stay with his wife clearly clashed with his desire to avoid the above-mentioned screaming, name-calling, and copious amounts of bodily fluids. Easily reading her husband’s turmoil, April said, “Casey my love, I will not think any less of you, nor will it diminish your daughter’ love for you, if you are not here when she’s born. Now, go get your playmates and get out of here.”

Finally convinced, if not altogether happy, Casey turned and allowed the Menaces to escort him out of the Lair. April sighed as he left. “I know he means well,” she told the remaining turtles, “but he would have been more of a hindrance than a help if he had stayed.”

“You don’t have to explain to us,” Donatello said. “Now, why don’t we get everything set up in the infirmary and take a look at what’s going on.” And with that, he and Donny quickly escorted April out of the room.

“I believe I will follow your two medically inclined siblings,” Master Splinter told Leo. “I have a feeling I may be of some use to Mrs. O’Neal-Jones.”

“And I’ll get the Brats to help me get the Lair put back in shape,” Leo said. “It will help keep them distracted from what’s going on in the other room, _and_ give them something constructive to do.”

And with that, the remaining members of the family went their separate ways.

TMNTTMNT

Three hours later, Leo didn’t have to be told something was wrong. Although the Geeks hadn’t said anything, the emotions rolling off them revealed the truth all the same. Giving the Brats rare mid-week permission to go the movies, Leo sent them out the door, and then he headed toward tension filled infirmary. Seeing as how both Donatello and Master Splinter were deeply involved in their care of April, Leo pulled Donny aside to ask what was going on.

“As far as we can tell, the baby is slightly in the wrong position,” Donny told him. “We were hoping the situation would correct itself, but it’s beginning to look like it’s not going to.”

“So what are your options,” Leo asked.

“Well, we could wait a while longer to see if something changes,” Donny said, “but the problem with that is April is getting weaker the longer this goes on.”

“Okay, so what’s option two,” Leo pushed.

“Well, Donatello and I agree that it would be a relatively simple matter to manually adjust the baby’s position. The problems with is April is very tense right now. Since we have to do this without the aid of any painkillers, this will probably be very painful for her, and possibly create a slight hazard for the baby.”

“But if April were to relax,” Leo asked. “Would that decrease the danger to the baby?”

“If, by some miracle April were able to relax enough, the chance the baby would be hurt goes down to pretty much zero,” Donny replied. “But, like I said, at this point getting April to relax at all would take a miracle.”

“Then just call me Miracle Max,” Leo said. “I think I can take care of your problem, even without the drugs.”

Donny wasn’t sure what his older brother intended, but he trusted Leo that he didn’t bother questioning him as he led the way to the bed where April was moaning in exhausted agony.

“Hey there, April-girl,” Leo said quietly as he took his friend’s hand. “Donny explained what’s going on, and I think I can help. But first, do you trust me?”

April, in too much pain to say anything, just nodded her head, her tear-filled eyes looking at Leo with renewed hope.

“All right, then,” Leo said as his father stepped away to allow Leo access to the hurting human. “The first thing I want you to do is close your eyes.” April immediately did so. “Good girl,” Leo said encouragingly. “Now, just listen to my voice. Feel my hand in yours. That’s right now; all that matters right now is you and me. There’s nothing else going on; it’s just the two of us. Next, I want you to picture all your pain and discomfort like a weight you are hold in your hand. Do you feel it? Now, I want you to shift as much of that weight as you can from your hand to mine. Do you feel it getting lighter? Come on, April-girl, you can give me more than that. You know how strong I am; I can handle the weight. That’s right. Good girl.”

Donny and Donatello could only watch in awe as April, supported as she now was by Leo’s empathy, began to relax. Within minutes she was more than relaxed enough for Donatello to do what he had to in order to reposition the baby. Speaking directly to his brother he said, “Okay, Leo, everything’s ready. All she needs to do is push.”

Under Leo’s gently guidance, that is exactly what April did. Three strong pushes and the baby was out. It didn’t take long for the sound of a newborn’s wailing to fill the previously silent Lair. And that’s when things really got crazy.  
“Damn, she’s bleeding,” Donatello cursed, the unusual expletive from the mild-mannered turtle revealing his distress. “Donny, Master Splinter, I’m going to need some help here!”

Thus it was that Leo found himself holding wrapped but still squalling newborn, and firmly booted out of the infirmary. Rather uncertain as to what one did with a crying infant, Leo began to gently bounce the unhappy baby very gently as he sent as much soothing emotion as he could toward her. Lulled by both the motion and the waves of loving emotion coming her way, the newest member of the turtle’s family was soon fast asleep in her large, green-skinned uncle’s arms.


	3. Introducing...

That was how his brothers and Casey found Leo half an hour later: the baby sound asleep in his arms. Without a word, and not even a glance at the infant snuggled securely to her green-skinned uncle’s chest Casey tore through the Lair and straight for the infirmary. When Donatello met him at the doorway and admitted him rather than turning him away Leo knew April must on the mend.

“So,” Raphael drawled. “Hear you had some ‘excitement’ around here while we were gone.”

“I don’t know that I would call it excitement,” Leo replied, his voice low in deference to the slumbering child in his arms, “but it certainly got tense for a while.”

“So, what happened,” Raph asked. “The Geeks only said that April had some trouble, but that with your help she was able to recover.”

“I’ll tell you in a minute,” Leo said with a grin, “but first, why don’t you come meet your new niece? She’s waking up, and she’s anxious to meet her uncles.”

Both younger turtles gave Leo a worried look.

“Uh, Leo, she’s not even an hour old yet,” Raph said, taking a nervous step away from the wrapped bundle in Leo’s arms. “I doubt she’s even aware of much of anything.”

Leo just shook his head, though the grin never left his face. “Ah, but how ‘normal’ do you think a child born into this family is going to be? Besides, even if April and Casey hadn’t been covered in our blood enough times to imbue them with trace amounts of the same mutagen that transformed us, there is the fact that they are very much a part of the, for want of a better term, spiritual net that has tied us together as a family.”

“So what you’re saying…” Raphael ventured.

“Is that this little girl very much an empath, just like her uncles,” Leo concluded. “Even in the womb she was soaking up our…presence I guess you could say. I didn’t realize how much she had taken in until I was helping April during the delivery.”

“I’d say you did a damn bit more than that,” Casey exclaimed as he joined the trio of turtles. “The Geeks say that if it wasn’t for you there’s a very good chance both April and the baby wouldn’t have made it. I owe you both of their lives.”

At this, Leo’s face flushed with embarrassment, but he managed to protest, “They are part of this clan. What else was I going to do? Besides, the Geniuses were just as much a help as I was.”

“Oh, we know,” Casey said. “That’s why we’ve decided to name the baby after all three of you. Permit me to introduce Alexandra Donnaleigha.”

“Don…Donna-who,” Leo spluttered, though he never lost his secure hold on the baby in his arms. The others laughed, not used to seeing the usually serene older turtle so discombobulated. 

“Donnaleigha,” Raph said, a smile now on _his_ face. “Say it with me: Don-uh-lee-uh. Donnaleigha. It’s not that hard a name to pronounce.”

“If it’s all the same to you, I think I’ll just call her Lexi,” Leo said. “Which reminds me.” He looked at Casey. “Here you go, papa. I believe this is yours.” He held out the infant to a suddenly spluttering Casey.

“I…what…how?” He looked at Leo. “What am I supposed to do with her? I don’t even know how to hold her.”

This time Leo’s smile was gentle, with no hint of mockery. “It’s not difficult,” he said. “Here, support her neck on your arm like this. That’s right. Now, hold her close to your chest, nice and firm. Don’t worry Casey; you’re not going to break her.”

Once the baby was settled in her father’s arms, Casey could only stare at her in shocked wonder. “That…that’s my little girl,” he stuttered.

“She’s beautiful,” Leo told him. “Fortunately she took after her mother rather than you.”

Just then, Lexi began to wail. Casey shot Leo a deer-in-the-headlights look. “What’d I do,” he said in a panic. 

“Calm down, moron,” Raphael jeered. “I’m betting the tadpole’s hungry. After all, she’s had a tough day.”

“What am I gonna do,” Casey stammered. “I can barely hold her, much less feed her. Wait. What am I going to feed her? I…I…”

“Casey, relax,” Leo said. “The Geeks were all prepared for this. Just follow me to the kitchen and we’ll get her taken care of.”

“Here,” Casey said, gently thrusting the still wailing infant at Leo. “You take her. I don’t want to drop her or anything.”

Smothering a laugh, Leo just took the crying baby and headed off toward the kitchen. As they crossed the Lair, Raph said, “Hey, Leo. Where’d you learn all this baby stuff? You’ve never been around kids before.”

“When I learned that the Geeks were preparing for the possibility of having to deliver the baby, I asked them to get me some information on parenting for new parents,” Leo replied. “I figured if we were going to have an infant around, I’d better understand what was going to be involved.”

Casey just shook his as he watched Leo prepare a bottle of formula one handed while still cradling the screaming Lexi. “Leo, my friend, you would make one hell of a dad.”

Only Raph saw the momentary flash of pain that crossed his big brother’s face before Leo replaced it with a mostly sincere smile. “Casey, you’ve met my brothers. Who needs kids when I’ve got them to look after?”

But Raph could tell his big brother didn’t entirely mean it. The younger turtle had never considered it, given that there was practically no chance that any of them would ever have families of their own, but it made sense that of all of them Leo would most want to be a father. He was, after all, a natural protector and nurturer. In that very instant there was nothing Raph wished more than that he could grant his brother’s unspoken wish somehow and give him the family he wasn’t sure even Leo knew he wanted.

A moment later his attention was pulled back to the present as Leo made Casey sit down at the table. Once the human was settled, Leo handed the baby back to her father, along with the bottle.

“All right, Case,” Leo said. “All you have to do is hold the bottle right there. She knows what do; she’ll do all the work. Now, once she’s finished, I’ll show you how to burp her. From what I read that is absolutely essential, unless you want her screaming at you while the gas works its way through her system.

For the next little while, no noise was heard beyond the quiet sound of Lexi sucking on the bottle while her father and uncles sat and watched in loving awe at the miracle before them.


	4. I Had a Dream

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry it has taken so long to get this out. I changed jobs about the time I started posting, so it's been a bit crazy couple of weeks.

Raph was dreaming; that much he was aware of. But despite this realization, he could exert no control over the events taking place. Without conscious thought, his dream self departed the Lair and headed out into the sewer tunnels. It didn’t take long for Raph to recognize the route he was taking, for he and his bros had traversed it numerous times before; he was headed for the docks. Keeping to the shadows even in this dream world, Raph moved past the busy and bustling commercial docks, and headed toward the run-down, all-but-deserted end of the docks that had gone out of use when the city updated its building codes and standards. Still, Raph never entered any of the abandoned and dilapidated warehouses that still (mostly) stood in this part of the waterfront. Instead, he moved right past them and straight into the water. As he began to swim, Raph was beginning to have doubts about his sanity. After all, to all appearances, he was headed straight out to the open water. And then he saw it.

Raph wasn’t sure how long the ship had been in the water, or even why it had not yet been removed or salvaged for scrap metal or nothing else, but it was quite clear that the shipwrecked cargo ship was his destination. Scurrying up the anchor chain, which by some miracle was still firmly attached, Raph made his way to the main hatch at the bow of the ship. It was incredibly dark in the bowels of the vessel, but with the twisted version of reality that makes anything in a dream seem reasonable, he was still able to see quite clearly.

Down and down he went, deeper and deeper into the interior of the dead ship. Despite the maze-like nature of the pathway, Raph was certain that if he ever found this ship again he would be able to repeat this journey with his eyes closed. At last he arrived at his destination. The door before him was shut, and if Raph had been in control, it would have remained that way, for he would have turned around right then and headed home. But whoever was running this dream lifted Raph’s hand to the hatch and pushed it open.

On the other side of the door was what obviously was some sort of laboratory. Abandoned test tubes and beakers, as well as blank computer screens filled the room. After finding himself abruptly once more in control of his dream body, Raph turned to leave. He didn’t like the feel of this room (too many memories of Bishop and his all too numerous labs). Besides, laboratories were the domain of the Geeks. He had no business being here. He was halfway out the door when a new, but very familiar, noise stopped him. It was the wail of a newborn infant. Dread filling him, Raph turned back to the room. Following the haunting sound, he made his way through the abandoned equipment to the far wall. There he found two ovular, roughly egg-shaped machines. It was from here that the crying was originating. Suddenly, a second cry joined the first, and Raph knew that, contained within that pair of machines were a pair of babies that needed his help. He reached out to open the first one and…

…found himself sitting up, wide awake, in his own bed. His heart was pounding, and he was shaking from the adrenaline still coursing through his body. As he was still orienting himself to the change of location, a half-heard whisper sound in his ear: “A gift and a thanks. Now a curse. Help him.”

Without a thought, merely acting on instinct, Raph was out of bed through his door, headed directly for Leo’s room. He wasn’t entirely sure why, but he _knew_ he needed to get to his big brother. Easing into Leo’s bedroom, Raph was startled to find the bed unmade, but the room empty. Refusing to panic just yet, Raph made his way toward the kitchen. After all, there was a very good chance Leo had merely gone to get a glass of water, or to use the restroom.

When both of those locations turned up empty, Raph’s paranoia shot up another notch. Still, there was one more place he had to check before he woke the others. Moving at a near run, Raph tore into the dojo; the dark, deserted dojo. Finally, the panic broke through, and Raph sent a silent, mental cry for help to all his brothers. Within minutes they had joined him, some more bleary eyed than others, in the dojo.

“Raph,” Donny complained as he yawned, “do you realize it is three in the morning?”

“Leo’s missing,” Raph told the others without preamble, ignoring his brother’s mild reprimand.

“What do you mean ‘missing,’” Raphael growled.

“I mean he is not in his room, the kitchen, the bathroom, or here,” Raph replied. “And if he had been with any of you, or even in the Lair somewhere, he’d have come running as soon as he realized I was beginning to freak out. Hence my conclusion that he is missing.”

Donatello, who was slightly more awake than the others, said, “Or he could have decided to take a really early morning run. Who knows, maybe he couldn’t sleep and wanted to work off some excess energy. After all, wherever he is, Leo is still alive an unharmed because I can still feel him in here.” He pointed to his head where the empathic connection to his older brother was still as firmly connected as ever. “I know,” Donatello said, “we’ll go check the security system logs. If Leo signed out, it will be in there.”

With no better suggestions put forth, the other followed the older Genius to his computer, where he quickly pulled up the security logs for the past several hours. As he scanned what looked like nothing more than gibberish to Raph, he kept making satisfied noises under his breath. Until…

“Okay, that’s weird,” Donatello said. Turning to Donny he said, “Take a look at this.” The second Genius turtle moved his twin’s side to look at what Donatello was pointing to. When nothing else was said for several minutes, Raph impatiently demanded,

“Well, anyone care like sharing?”

“There’s an anomaly in the security logs,” Donny explained. “Three ‘blips,’ no longer than a hundredth of a second each, right around 12:30 this morning. The system then shows normal operation until 12:35, when the ‘blips’ return, again each no longer than one one-hundredth of a second, and the systems have been normal once more since then.”

“What’s so odd about that,” Raphael asked. “Maybe there was a hiccup in the system.

“You don’t understand,” Donatello said. “We have this system set up so that the slightest interruption in its operation will send us a warning. So we should have heard about each of those six ‘blips.’”

“So, what does it mean,” Michelangelo asked. “And please don’t say what I think you’re going to say.”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense,” Donatello said regretfully. “I mean, we’ve seen at least one being who was able to slip through the sensors without any interference, so why shouldn’t there be more of them?”

“But…but Leo doesn’t seem to be in any sort of pain,” Mikey stammered. “That has to be a good thing. Right?”

“I’m not sure,” Donatello said. “But at least one of our visitors came back. About 45 minutes ago, actually.”

At that, Raph’s eyes went wide as his dream that wasn’t a dream came back to him. “I think I understand now,” he murmured to himself.

“What was that,” Raphael questioned, having heard his twin’s whispered comment to himself.

“I think our visitor was trying to get help,” Raph told his brothers. He quickly related the events of his dream, ending with the plea that has been whispered in his ear upon his awaking. “I don’t think our guests meant Leo any harm. But something went wrong, and now Leo needs our help.”

“Do you boys always have to jump the gun on me,” a new voice asked from behind the group. They all turned to see ghost Leo “standing” to the rear of the Brats. “I just received word of what’s taken place, and I came to let you know, only to find that you’re about two steps ahead of where I thought you would be.”

“Hey, maybe if you weren’t so slow we wouldn’t have the chance to get ahead,” Raphael smarted back. “But since that’s neither here nor there right now, why don’t you fill in the gaps.”

“Or I could just sit here and wait for you to do it yourself, Mr. Smarty-Pants,” Leo shot back.

“Guys,” Donatello interrupted. “Hate to disrupt this little love fest you’ve got going on, but I’d rather like to hear what happened to Leo.”

“Sorry,” the young spirit said, looking rather abashed. “So, anyway, back why I’m here. It seems that the Faerins, also known as Faeries, a race of spirit beings that have selected Earth as their home, decided to honor Earth’s new Avatar. Together with their brothers and sisters from the alternate world you just returned from, they decided to give Leo something no one else could: a child.”

“What,” the others spluttered in complete shock. Of all things, this was the last thing they had expected to hear.

“Yes, well, apparently there had been some difficulty in determining just what to gift Leo with, until they heard Raph’s wish that Leo could somehow have children of his own. Despite their non-physical nature, or maybe because of it, the Faerins are exceptional scientists, so they were able to collect enough raw genetic material to create a brand new, non-cloned infant turtle. They only thing they needed was Leo’s genetic material so that the baby truly would be his offspring.”

“So they just came and took him,” Raphael growled.

“Not without his permission,” the ghost insisted. “If they hadn’t gotten his agreement before taking him with them they would have been no better than the Broanins, known in Earth mythology as Brownies, who are their Darkside counterparts. Which leads us to what has occurred tonight. It seems everything was going well, and process was nearly complete, when the Broanins attacked the lab. Now, the Faerins might be amazing scientists, but they are not fighters. Usually they can depend in their skills at stealth to keep them hidden from the Broanins. So, when they were attacked, they came fleeing directly to the Council. Unfortunately, Faerins can be very flighty creatures, so trying to get the whole story out of them might be next to impossible. All they could tell us for certain is that Leo and the child were in peril, and we needed to send help as quickly as possible.”

“So where is he,” Michelangelo asked. “Did they at least tell you that much?”

“I’m afraid not,” the younger version of Leonardo said apologetically.

Suddenly, Raph’s early morning visitor made complete sense. “I don’t think all the Faerins are as flighty as they seem,” he said.

“What do you mean,” Donny asked.

“I mean that I think I can lead us to Leo,” Raph said. “And it all started with a dream.”


	5. And Babies Make Ten

It was eerie just how much like his dream this trip out the half-sunken cargo ship was. The shadows were the same; people were in the same locations; cars passed at exactly the same times. Shell, Raph would have sworn that even the roaches in the sewer were dead on in the same positions. It was unnerving to say the least. Unlike his dream, however, this trip was much noisier. After all, there were a lot more individuals going this time, and two of them were the Brats. Enough said.

“So, will we have to face these Broanin-things,” Raph asked their ghostly companion. “How do you fight something like that anyway?”

“I’ll be able to tell if there are any Broanins still present,” the younger version of Leo said. “If they are, I’ll get rid of them. After all, it takes a spirit to fight a spirit, unless you have an Avatar available to lend a hand.”

“Which we don’t at the moment,” Raphael said in disgust. “But since we’re talking about these Brownie-things, what kinds of things might they have done to Leo? I mean, are we talking stubbed toe, or life-threatening injury?”

“For the most part, the Broanins are about as low-level Darkside as you can get,” ghost-Leo replied. “They tend to be more mischievous than malicious. Their tactics tend to be harassment and inconvenience rather than actual evil. They like to take what the Faerins have done and twist it, just slightly.”

“So,” Michelangelo asked. “How does that translate into English?”

“This is only a guess,” the transparent turtle said, “but I could see them creating a second baby. But whereas the infant created the Faerins will be easy going and easy to take care of, the ‘dream’ child if you will, a child created by the Broanins would probably be irritable, colicky, and all around unpleasant.”

“But, how would that get back at Leo and the rest of us,” Mikey asked.

“Because you can’t honestly tell me that you would abandon an infant mutant, much less one that carries your brother’s genes,” the family ghost replied. “Nope, we’re all too responsible for that. So instead you’ll ‘suffer’ with an infant that is fussy and difficult to deal with. Think about it: waking you in the middle of the night. Refusing to go to sleep. Excessively yucky diapers. You get the picture.”

“But you’re certain it won’t be a ravaging, bloodthirsty monster whose throat I’ll need to slit,” Raphael asked. The tone of the question was only half regretful.

“Probably not,” he was told. The scary part was phantom Leo’s tone was identical to Raphael’s.

“Shh, guys, this is the tricky part,” Raph suddenly hissed. “Between here and the water is open ground. The last thing we need is to be seen.” That shut everyone up; even the Brats. With all the skill of ninja that had been drummed into them since childhood, the six corporeal turtles made it across the open expanse and into the water with no hint of their passing. As for ghost Leo, he couldn’t be seen by those he didn’t wish to see him anyway.

Once in the water, Raph took point again. This time his brothers were too busy swimming to make much noise, much to Raph’s relief. After about fifteen minutes of steady swimming, the group reached the half-submerged cargo ship. Once again the dream proved true, and the six turtles were able to scale the anchor chain up on to the ship. Their ghostly companion simply floated up to the top deck of the ship.

“This way,” Raph whispered. “And keep the lights off until we get below deck. It’s a clear night, so any light is going to be visible for quite a distance. The last thing we need is some nosy busybody coming to investigate.”

Following Raph’s lead, the six other turtles made their way across the debris strewn deck to a rather rusty door. It took a little effort, but the door finally opened with a squeal. All of the turtles winced at the noise.

“Sorry,” Raph said with a grimace. “Didn’t realize it was going to do that.” The others just shrugged it off and continued to file after him into the darkened depths of the derelict vessel. Once they were well away from the door, Raph gave permission for the lights to be lit. The Brats then earned a smack apiece as they laughed at how their Genius older brothers looked wearing their headlamps.

“Laugh away, goofballs,” Donny told them. “At least we won’t have to worry about losing our light should it come to a fight.”

“Uh, excuse me,” Raph growled at his younger siblings. “We’re in the middle of a rescue mission, remember? Cut the idle chatter already!”

“Geesh, touchy much,” Mikey commented once his older brother was out of hearing. “This is the moodiest I’ve seen Raph since before, well, before Leo died.”

“Which one,” his twin asked, a brow ridge raised in question.

“Our first one,” Mikey said. “You know, the one that you can currently see through.”

“Our brother is feeling a heavy weight of responsibility,” said transparent turtle said, suddenly appearing from thin air. “By sending that dream to him, the Faerins have placed to load of finding Leo before it is too late on Raph’s shoulders. Perhaps you should cut him a little slack at the moment.”

The Brats shrugged but agreed. If Raph needed some space right now to get him through this, then space it what he would get.

TMNTTMNT

It took nearly ten minutes to get through the darkened hallways to the lab that Raph had seen in his dream. It seemed the Faerin that had visited him had been more interested in making sure he knew which way to go, and so didn’t bother showing him the obstacles that would be in his way. Of course, for a spirit being, things like half-rotted floors and buckled bulkheads weren’t exactly a hindrance. Finally, though, the family arrived outside the familiar door.

Before anyone was allowed it the room, Raph looked at their ghostly companion. “Any Broanins still around that we need to worry about.”

The shade closed his eyes for a moment, then said, “No. The place is deserted. It’s safe to go in.”

“Okay Donny and Donatello, this is where I turn it over to you,” Raph said, turning to his younger brothers. “You’ll know more about the stuff in there than any of the rest of us, so you two can take point. Those egg machine things are at the very back of the lab. Just keep going back and you can’t miss them.” With that, he pushed the door open, then moved aside to allow his two science-savvy siblings to pass through.

If their mission hadn’t been so dire, the two Geniuses would have been on Cloud Nine with so much advanced lab equipment to explore. As it was, they simply by-passed it and kept moving toward the back of the lab.

As for Raph, he found the lab even eerier in person. The only thing missing was the haunting wail of an infant’s cry. No sooner had the thought passed through his mind than the sound of a newborn baby crying filled the room. His sense of urgency kicking up a notch, Raph urged, “A little faster guys. Something tells me something isn’t quite right.” That’s when the second cry also began.

Picking up their pace, the turtles were soon standing in front of the two ovular machines. Both were, as Raph had described, roughly egg shaped, and made from an unusual silvery-white metal. A seam could be clearly seen running the circumference of the “egg,” but there was no visible means of opening it. That, of course, didn’t bother the two Geniuses. Without a word, they each approached one of the machines and began running their fingers over it.

“I don’t get it,” Donatello said after a few minutes of fruitless searching. “There has to be a way to open these things.”

“Hey, it looks like a giant egg,” Michelangelo said lightly. “Why don’t you just ask it to hatch open?”

Immediately upon the word “hatch,” both machines began to quiver slightly, and the “egg” began to split directly along the seam.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Donny said with a groan.

“Actually, it makes sense,” their ghostly guide said. “The Faerins are very much beings of the light; almost childish at times. Somehow it doesn’t surprise me that the Brats would be able to, excuse the pun, _crack_ the code.”

“Hate to interrupt, but heads up bro,” Raphael suddenly growled. “We’ve got contact.”

Sure enough, both machines were completely open, revealing their unusual contents. There, covered in what was obviously whatever passed for placental material inside the machine were two _very_ tiny infant turtles.

“Uh, which one’s the good baby, and which the evil spawn,” Mikey asked, looking at the two infants.

“Doesn’t matter now,” Donatello said as he reached into his machine and carefully picked up the now silent, sticky infant. “We’re taking both of them home with us. I’m going to run some blood tests on both of them once we’re back at the Lair; maybe that will give us some more answers. Right now, we just need to get them home.”

“Uh, Donatello,” Raphael said. “I just thought of something. How are we going to get these two home? I mean, we swam here.”

“Don’t worry, we came prepared for that,” Donny assured him as he pulled a soft blanket from his trusty bag and began to wrap his baby in it. “We have two specially designed rafts that will allow us to tow the babies back to the shore. We just need to move quickly before it gets any lighter outside.”

The six turtles turned back to the door. They were almost there, when a flash of light caught Raph’s eye. With a cry of dismay he pulled Leo’s partially unsheathed katanas, mask, and other equipment from a half-hidden side table.

“So, Leo was here,” Donny said, almost to himself.

“But, if he’s not here now, where did he go,” Raphael asked back.

“We’ll have to worry about that later,” Donatello said. “It’s almost five in the morning. Getting home is going to be a lot more difficult, and we need to get these two home _now._ Wherever Leo is, he would definitely put the safety of these two before his own. Once they’re safely back at the Lair, then we can try and figure out what happened to Leo.”

Unable to argue with their brother’s logic, the turtles continued back the way they had come.


	6. Homeward Bound

The trip home, as one might expect, took much longer than the trip out. After carefully climbing out of the bowels of the downed ship, which proved quite interesting at times as the babies had to be passed from turtle to turtle so that some of the trickier obstacles could be maneuvered, the family had faced the most daunting part of the trip: the swim back to shore. While ghost Leo headed back to report to Master Splinter, and to check to see if the Faerins were any more coherent, once again Donny and Donatello came to the rescue. They produced the promised “rafts” from their magic bags, and with Raph and Raphael carefully towing the two infants through the water the family had made it back to shore safely. No sooner had they reached the shore, however, then both infants began to scream; loudly.

“What’s wrong with them,” Mikey asked, his eyes wide with concern. “Did we break them?”

“I’m willing to bet they’re hungry,” Donatello said. “Babies need to eat pretty soon after they’re born. Heck, Leo had to bring Lexi back and help April nurse her before we even finished getting April completely stabilized. Good thing he’d already established the mental connection with her; poor April was so out of it I don’t think she could have done it on her own.”

“So what are we going to do about the pipsqueaks,” Raphael growled. “They’re going to attract the attention of every Joe Schmoe in the area if we don’t get them quiet.”

“Hopefully this will tide them over until we can get them back to the Lair,” Donny said, pulling two bottles pre-prepared bottles from his bag. “I wish we could heat them up, but we’ll have to make do for the moment.”

Cuddling one of the babies to his plastron, Donny stuck the bottle in the open mouth, but the screaming child did not respond.

“What’s wrong with him,” Raph asked. “Lexi took her bottle like a champ.”

“Well, not being there to actually see it I can only speculate,” Donny said. “But I suspect Leo had something to do with that. After all, babies have to learn how to eat. I’m willing to bet that Leo, who seemed to have bonded quite closely to Lexi, was somehow helping her know what to do.”

“Speaking infants and eating, what on earth are you feeding them,” Raphael asked, though his tone suggested he wasn’t sure he really wanted to know. “I don’t remember formula being on any of our shopping lists.”

“It’s actually genetically altered goat’s milk,” Donatello said. “You’re going to laugh, but we actually bought a goat after we found at that April was pregnant. With April’s help we were able to genetically modify the milk the goat produces so that it is much closer to what a human mother would produce. In fact, it’s the same stuff Leo had Casey feed to Lexi.”

“Wait,” Michelangelo said, his expression bewildered. “Where on earth are you hiding a goat?”

“We made arrangements with a family who lives on the outskirts of the city,” Donny said as he tried once more to convince the screaming infant in is arms to take the proffered bottle. “They have a whole herd of goats, so they keep ours with theirs. In exchange, we’ve helped improve some of their outdated farming equipment, and Casey helps with any mechanic work that needs to be done.”

Suddenly, the sound of voices drew the turtles’ attention. Humans! And it sounded like they were coming straight toward the group. Immediately Raphael sprang into action.

“Donny, give that baby to Raph.” Before either brother could protest, Raphael said, “Raph, you know this area better than anyone. I want you to take Donatello and the babies back to the Lair as quickly as you can. That will be faster if there are only two of you. The rest of us will stay here and try to distract the unwanted attention.”

With no room for argument, Raph reluctantly took the baby from his younger brother. To everyone’s astonishment, the baby almost immediately stopped screaming. For the longest moment, it simply stared up at Raph with eyes that were the exact shape of Leo’s. In fact, Raph thought rather whimsically, the look in the infant’s eyes was very similar to the expectant look Raph had often see in his big brother’s eyes, almost as if the baby were saying, “Well, you heard the turtle! Let’s get going.”

Without another word, Raphael and the others disappeared into the grey light of the early morning. Left with no other choice, Raph said quietly to Donatello, “Follow me. We can get to the sewers this way.”

Although the entrance Raph led him to wasn’t far, Donatello could see why the older turtle hadn’t suggested it before. There just wasn’t enough concealment for all six turtles to use, which would have left them vulnerable to being seen, especially in the encroaching light of the approaching dawn. As it was, it was a tight squeeze for just the two turtles and their small passengers to keep under cover. Donatello couldn’t help heaving a silent sigh of relief when he and Raph were finally safely back in the familiar environment of the sewer tunnels.

“I hate this,” Raph said some time later, once they were well away from any human populated areas.

“This is where you were needed,” Donatello replied, not having to be told just what it was his brother hated. “Your twin was right; the babies need to get home as quickly as possible, and you were the most familiar with that area of the city, thereby making you the best choice fore getting them safely away.”

“I just feel useless,” Raph told his brother. “First I freak out over that dream, wasting time we could have been using to get to Leo, and then we don’t even find him, and finally I have to retreat while the others watch our backs.”

Donatello sighed; he hated dealing with a Raph/Raphael guilt trip. At least when Leo was guilt tripping you could typically use logic to get him back on track. The Menaces were so driven by emotion, however, that logic had little or no effect on them. Fortunately, at least with Raph, there was one ploy that usually worked.

“What would Leo have done,” Donatello asked. “First off, he wouldn’t blame you for not recognizing that dream as a message. In fact, if our very own Casper the Friendly Ghost hadn’t shown up, it’s very likely we never would have put the pieces together, simply because there was no way of knowing that dream was anything more than a dream. Secondly, I think we can all agree that while Leo was in that lab at some point, he wasn’t there anymore when we showed up. And at that point, the safety of the babies, and the rest of the family, took precedence over finding him; he’d tell you that himself. As for ‘running away,’ as you seem to see our current state, Leo would tell you he was utilizing our different strengths. At that moment you were the best choice to get these two to safety, while Raphael was the better choice for watching our backs. Now, do you having any more whining you want to do, or can we pick up our pace? I really need to get these two home and start running some tests.”

Raph considered his “younger” brother for a moment, and then shook his head with a small smile. “You have been spending way too much time with Donny and Leo; your verbal butt kicking skills are improving.”

“I can’t help it if I have learned from the masters,” Donatello replied, a flash of embarrassment rushing through him at the unexpected, though backhanded, praise. “Besides, you keep giving me opportunities to practice.”

“I’ll have to work on that,” Raph said with a grin. “Now, if we take a right at the next intersection, we can cut ten minutes off our trip. Let’s get home and get these little ones tucked away safe and sound.”


	7. Revelations

Unsurprisingly, Donatello and Raph were the first to arrive home. Without preamble, Donatello led the way through the Lair and straight to the infirmary.

“Take a seat,” Donatello told his brother. “I need get this little one cleaned up, take some measurements, and run a few tests, and then I’ll do the same to the little guy you’re holding.”

“Why don’t I just take this one with me and go check in with Master Splinter while you’re doing that,” Raph suggested, inexplicably uncomfortable in the medical room in a non-emergency setting.

“No need,” ghost Leo said as he solidified back into visibility. “Once the rest of you started back from the ship, I headed back to check in with your sensei, and to see if the Council had gotten anything usefully out of the Faerins.”

“So, what did you find out,” Raph asked.

A disturbed look crossed the young ghost’s face. “Some…startling information,” he said. “But I think I’ll wait until the others get back. They deserve to hear this first hand. Any idea how long they will be?”

Raph quickly checked on his twin through their empathic Bond, and was relieved to find he and the others relatively close to home.

“Maybe another ten minutes at most,” he said. “And that’s accounting for the Brats getting distracted.”

He was about to add something else, when the oddest sensation came over him, like someone had brushed a feather across his mind. The sensation was neither menacing nor painful, but the sheer unexpectedness of it caused Raph to jump and slam his mental shields closed; immediately the infant in his arms once again began to wail in distress.

“Whoa, bro,” Donatello said with no small amount of surprise as the baby he was currently trying to get cleaned up likewise began to cry. “What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” Raph admitted as he gently bounced the baby in his arms. “It almost felt like someone was trying to get my attention through the Bond, but I didn’t recognize the touch. It was almost like…” his eyes went wide, and he looked down at the infant in his arms in wonderment.

“Almost like what,” Donatello asked with a small measure of exasperation as the infant in his arms continued to scream.

“I think it was him,” Raph said, gesturing toward the infant he was holding with a bob of his head.

“Well, if these two are genetically related to Leo, I guess that would make some sense,” Donatello said. “It was probably an instinctive reaction to having you activate the Bond while holding him. Or her, I guess,” Donatello added. “I’m still not sure the sex of either of these youngsters.”

“Hold on,” Raph said, “I want to try something.” Focusing on the baby he was holding, he very gently reached out along the empathic pathway the existed among him and his brothers. This time, when the delicate, questioning sensation once again, though much more timidly this time, brushed his mind, he very softly reached back. The mind he found on the other end of that touch was unlike anything he’d every experienced. There were no concrete images or ideas, but rather sensations and colors. Raph could tell the little one felt secure and comfortable in his (for the baby was very definitely a “he”) current caretaker’s arms, but at the same time this new world was overwhelming and rather frightening. But above all, he was HUNGRY!

Pulling back just slightly from the connection with the baby, Raph said softly, “Someone hand me one of those bottles. I want to try something.” Almost immediately a bottle was thrust into his hand, and Raph popped the nipple into the baby’s open mouth. This time, however, he thought about the sensation of sucking, and sent that through the Bond to the open little mind he was connected to. And, miracles of miracles, it worked. The baby boy latched onto the nipple and began to greedily suck down the bottle’s contents.

“How did you do that,” Donatello asked in shock as he watched the baby his older brother was cuddling close take his bottle like he’d been doing it for years.

“Something you said about Leo possibly helping Lexi figure out how to take a bottle got me to thinking,” Raph said. “I simply, for the want of a better explanation, conveyed what it feels like to suck to this guy through the Bond, and he took over from there.”

“Hmmm,” Donatello said with a considering look at his own screaming infant. “I wonder.” Much like Raph did, he softly opened his connection to the Bond. Almost immediately he felt the gentlest brush of another mind against his. Keeping his touch light he followed the sensation back to its source. He couldn’t define just why, but he somehow he knew he was holding his niece; this was Leo’s little girl. And boy, she wasn’t happy. She was sticky, and cold, and HUNGRY. Taking his cue from Raph, he tried to communicate the sensation of what it felt like to suck to the baby girl. This time, when he stuck the bottle in her mouth, passed to him by the very helpful family ghost, she took to it like a champ.

Neither Donatello nor Raph were aware of the tears streaming down their faces, or of the awestruck looks on their faces, until the rest of their brothers came piling into the room, and Mikey exclaimed, “Hey, what’s with the sob fest?” Then his voice spiked with panic. “Is something wrong? Did something happen to the babies?”

“Nothing’s wrong, Brat,” Raph reassured him as he wiped the tears from his cheeks. “Just a little Uncle-baby bonding time.”

“Dude, if it’s going to make me cry I can do without the bonding experience,” Mikey said, a wary look in his eyes as he regarded the baby Raph was feeding.

“Trust me, bro, you do not want to miss out on this,” Raph said with the sappiest grin anyone could ever remember seeing him wear.

“Yeah,” Donatello seconded. “It’s…beyond description.”

“Okay, okay, enough of the mushy stuff,” Raphael grumbled. “I want to know if Junior was able to learn anymore about what happened tonight.” Everyone turned to look at the ghost.

“Yes and no,” the younger version of the oldest turtle responded. “Nearly all the Faerins were still in a tizzy, which made getting anything comprehensible out of them next to impossible. The only useful information they were able to provide was that Leo was still alive when the Faerins left.”

“Well, that was pretty much a waste of time,” Raphael groused.

“Not quite,” Leonardo corrected. “I said _nearly_ all the Faerins were still in a tizzy. Turns out that the one that delivered the dream message to Raph is slightly sturdier in constitution than his fellow Faerins. He requested permission to talk to you directly about what took place last night and this morning. Now, I’m going to warn you: it seems the Faerins have a thing for Tolkien, so please try not to laugh when Master Frodo Weathertop introduces himself.”

Of course, the Brats started to snicker at once, but a quick smack from Donny brought them under control. Once he was certain that everything was under control, the young spirit called out, “It’s all right now. You may show yourself.”

Immediately to his right, a small figure appeared. Dressed completely in shades of green, the individual was no taller than the young turtle’s hip. It straight away became clear how the Faerins sparked the inspiration for the stories about faeries, for the short figure sported a pair of beautiful, caramel colored, butterfly-like wings.

“Greetings, Guardians,” the small figure said in a soft voice. “I am Master Frodo Weathertop, chief scientist of the Faerins. I bring you the highest regards and deepest regrets of my people. It was not our intention to cause the disappearance of your brother, Earth’s Avatar. We sought simply to pay homage to him, and give him a gift to celebrate his most honored position. Had we known the Broanins were going to interfere we would have taken greater precautions.”

“So, just what did happen,” Donny asked. “I mean, we had no clue anything was going on until Raph woke us up this morning.”

“We approached your brother the day the human youngling was born and explained our desire to give him a gift,” Master Frodo explained. “He was a little hesitant, at first, when we told just what we desired to do for him, but his heart-wish for just such a child led him to agree. We finally had everything in readiness last night, and all we needed was his genetic material to complete the process. Had things gone according to plan, we would have returned your brother and his daughter to you later this morning. However, the arrival of the Broanins disrupted things.”

“I thought Leo, the ghost one that is, said that the Broanins were just tricksters, and not really malicious,” Raphael said. “Why would they interfere?”

“Tricksters they are,” Master Frodo replied. “But one of their favorite tricks is to steal infants, and replace them with false children. The stolen children are then raised by parents chosen by the Broanins; usually couples with Darkside tendencies. This, we feared, was their intent for your brother’s child.”

“So, what happened,” Donny asked. “I’m guessing that’s not what they wanted this time.”

“To our surprise, the Broanins who approached us offered something different. They swore by their Mother Earth that they would not touch the girl-child if we would simply leave our lab immediately for their use.”

“And you believed them,” Raphael asked, his eyes narrowing in disbelief.

“Tricksters they may be, but the Broanins have their own version of honor,” the Faerin scientist said. “For them, there is no oath more binding than to swear by their Mother Earth. To dishonor such a vow would cause their immediate and complete destruction, for their Mother will hold with no reneging of such a vow.”

“So you left,” Raphael growled. “Abandoning Leo to those creatures.”

“We honestly did not feel that the Avatar would have any need to fear ones such as the Broanins. But to be on the safe side, I did attempt to contact the one closest to your Leonardo’s thoughts.”

“My dream,” Raph said.

“Yes,” Master Frodo said. “Though once again I must beg your forgiveness. Unaccustomed as I am to interfacing with Earth-tied minds, I fear my message wasn’t as clear as I had hoped.”

“I think that was more me,” Raph admitted. “It took me a while to understand that it wasn’t just a dream.”

“Still, you have my profoundest apologies for all that has taken place this night,” the Faerin said. “And please, if there is anything I can do to help in the search for your brother, do not hesitate to call on me.”

“Actually, I have a small request,” Donatello said. “Being unfamiliar with your technology, I have no way of knowing if we caused any harm in pulling these two out of their incubation chambers when we did. I was hoping you might look them over to make sure all is well.”

“Ah, so that was the Broanins’ plan,” Master Frodo said and he fluttered over to take a look at the now sleeping infants. “Not to replace the child, but to provide their own version. Odd, but then the Broanins do not think as most do. Still, there is something odd about this child.” He was looking at the male infant snuggled against Raph’s plastron. “I will examine him more momentarily. First, allow me to make sure your niece is as she should be.”

Taking the sleeping baby from Donatello the Faerin closed his eyes for a few seconds. When he opened them, he smiled at the turtles. “All is well with your little Gabriella.”

“Wait, she already has a name,” Michelangelo protested. “Who decided that?”

“Your brother chose the name for his daughter,” Master Frodo said. “He said that this child was a miracle. He also said that the artist for whom he is named created a painting depicting another miraculous event, so he felt the name would be fitting.”

“Huh,” Mikey asked, not sure what the Faerin was talking about.

“Leonardo de Vinci did a painting of the angel Gabriel coming to the Virgin Mary,” Donatello explained. “Both that, and what took place, led to the miraculous coming forth of children that, scientifically, should not have been.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Mikey said, understanding finally dawning. “Our little Gabby is our very own miracle baby.”

“Indeed,” the Faerin scientist said. “Now, allow me to clean this little one up so that you do not have to disturb her sleep any further.” And with a flick of his wings all the birth material that had still been coating Gabby suddenly disappeared. “Your niece is completely healthy, though if she were human she would be considered about five weeks premature. Still, I feel there will be no complications for her. Now, allow me to examine this other youngster.”

Raph handed over his sleeping burden. Master Frodo frowned slightly as he took the male infant.

“Is there something wrong with him,” Raph asked in concern.

“Not physically,” the Faerin replied. “As with Gabby, he is physically healthy, though very much premature. But still, something is not wholly right with this child. Perhaps if I were to clean him up some the trouble would make itself clearer.”

A second flick of those wings, and the second infant was likewise spotless. But rather than relieving the Faerin’s distress, it only increased. 

“What sort of treachery is this,” the winged scientist exclaimed. “What sort of evil being would so mar an innocent in this manner?”

Startled, the turtles rushed to see what their guest in such in uproar. As they huddled around the still sleeping infant, it quickly became clear what was so disturbing the gentle scientist. Marring the plastron of the sleeping infant was a horrific scar. With trembling hands, Donny reached out and gently rubbed the baby’s shell. As he suspected, there was a matching scar there as well.

“Master Frodo,” he said in a strangled whisper. “No one did this to a baby. You see, Leo was full grown when he got those scars. That’s not just any baby you’re holding. That’s our brother.”


	8. Leo or Not?

No!

The outraged denial ripped through Raph’s thoughts like an electric current. In fact, the reaction was so strong it actually jolted his body. Fortunately his brothers were too focused on the sleeping infant Leo to take any note of his unusually strong reaction. Taking advantage of their preoccupation, Raph slipped away from his family in order to take refuge in the shadows while his thoughts, and even his very sanity, ran amok. 

This can’t be happening, Raph thought to himself. But there was no denying the desperate edge that colored the thought. Fully grown people, or in this case, almost fully grown mutated turtles do not just get turned into premature infants.

 _But turning into fully grown dragons is normal_ , a more rational part of Raph’s mind (which sounded a lot like Leo) asked.

It makes more sense than this, was Raph’s less than convincing reply. I mean, come on. A dragon is fierce, and scary, and protective as shell; it’s a perfect match for Leo. A baby, on the other hand, is weak, defenseless, and helpless. You can’t say that any of those describe my big brother.

 _Maybe not now_ , the annoyingly reasonable voice said, _but there have been times in the past where they have. Are you saying that he is so once again disgusts you?_

Raph considered that for a moment before concluding that, no, he wasn’t disgusted, but he was damn annoyed with Leo. After all, what the shell was he thinking, disappearing into the night like that without a word to anyone? He might be harder to kill now, but that didn’t mean it was impossible. Instead, he would have just vanished into the night, just like Raph’s original Leonardo, leaving his family to mourn and hope in vain for his return as the years slipped away. The more Raph thought about it, the angrier he got. Leo had no right doing that to him again!

 _But you’re not just angry at Leo, are you_ , that infuriating little voice whispered again. _After all, it was your wish that caught the Faerins’ attention and gave them the idea. And it was you who failed to recognize that dream as a message._

Shut up, Raph growled at the voice, which was now sounding more like Raphael than Leo. But the words had hit home, and as self-disgust and guilt began to mingle with his previous anger he added, You’re not helping.

_Hey, don’t blame me. I’m your subconscious after all._

Great, Raph thought to himself as the voice seemed to shift once more. Now my subconscious is channeling the Brats.

I reflect whoever you think will get the point across the best, the voice returned, now sounding like Donny or Donatello. I’m just pointing out things you already know. So why don’t we stop playing games and lay all the cards on the table at once? In addition to feeling guilty, and being mad at yourself and Leo, you’re also grieving for you loss, and you’re scared witless. After all, Leo’s the foundation of your world. So what are you going to do without him?

I don’t know, Raph thundered as the maelstrom of emotions hit, making him even angrier.

Your problem, his subconscious supplied, is that you feel too much. You feel too much, too strongly, particularly for Leo. But if you want, I can help you with that.

That brought Raph up short. Why do I suddenly feel Eve facing the serpent here, he mused.

Relax, dude. This is no forbidden fruit I’m offering. I’m part of you, remember? Part of my job description is to protect you from things you just aren’t able to cope with. And right this minute, the shock of losing Leo again is proving to be a real threat to your continued sanity. Point in case: most people don’t carry on actual interactive conversations with themselves, and especially not with their subconscious mind.

Touché, Raph conceded. So just what is your plan for keeping me sane?

It’s simple. For the time being I’ll simply lock away all your emotional responses toward Leo. You won’t feel anything at all.

Correct me if I’m wrong, but that doesn’t sound particularly healthy.

As a long-term solution it isn’t. But the idea here is to get you through the ‘now’ until you can face those emotions. As it stands right now they are slowly but surely going to destroy you. If we do this my way, you’ll be protected. And don’t worry; I’ll know when you’re ready to handle those emotions again.

Raph was all set to agree, anything to escape the emotional hell he’d been going through, when a stray though crossed his mind. Wait! Will this endanger the Bond?

No. The Bond will remain active and intact. I will simply prevent your conscious mind from receiving any information from Leo through it. Not to worry; as a part you, I have no desire to harm our brother either.

Then do it, Raph said. 

TMNTTMNT

While Raph was flirting with the edge of insanity in the shadows, the rest of his brothers were busy grilling Master Frodo for further information on their brother’s transformation.

“How is this even possible,” Donatello asked, once his shock wore off. “I mean, given these scars, this can’t be a clone. But it is scientifically impossible for this to have happened.”

“Scientifically, yes,” the Faerin scientist agreed. “But the Broanins don’t operate by strictly scientific means. You see, the Broanins aren’t just are mortal nemesis, but our opposites as well. Whereas we are beings of the light and the air, they are beings of darkness, tied to the earth. We operate largely in the fields of science and reason; they depend mostly on magic and superstition. So, using our methods, no, it would be impossible for this to occur. But I believe, as must we all with the proof here before our eyes, that the Broanins have the ability to do such a thing using their magic.”

“Is there a way to reverse it,” Donny asked.

“I cannot be sure,” Master Frodo said honestly. “If there is, I fear the means lies within the realms of magic rather than science.”

“Then here’s one for you,” Raphael growled. “Is that actually Leo, with all of his memories and personality intact, just shut away behind an infant’s mind? Or did they simply shrink his body and wipe the slate clean?”

“Given that I have never experienced this before, I cannot say with any real certainty. However, I fear that it this second option. After all, an infant’s mind could never handle all the information that the adult version could. It would destroy his mind. No, I fear your brother will be starting over from scratch.”

“But the Bond is still intact,” Donatello protested. “If they wiped Leo’s mind, wouldn’t that have been destroyed as well?”

“Your brother’s standing as a Guardian is a, for want of a better term, magical transformation,” Master Frodo said. “It has become part of who he is at a cellular level, so even destroying everything else that makes your brother who he was would not remove that.”

At this, the faces of all five turtles fell. Upon seeing their downcast expressions, the Faerin gave them a sorrowful look.

“I am sorry, my friends,” he said. “We never meant for this to happen. Our only intent was to honor your brother. Had we known that our gift would be twisted in such a way…”

“It’s not your fault,” Mikey said, true forgiveness ringing in his voice. “You had no way of knowing what would happen. Besides, you gave us Gabby. Leo must have wanted her very badly to agree to your gift without telling any of us anything about it. Think of her as fulfilling his last wish.”

“Thank you, young one,” Master Frodo replied. “Although they do not allay my guilt, your words do bring some comfort. Now, if you will excuse me, I must return to my fellow teammates and report what we have discovered here this night. And do not fear; we will do our best to discover if there is any means of undoing what has been done.” And with that he was gone, leaving the turtles alone once more.

After a long moment of silence, Donatello softly said, “I guess someone should go tell Master Splinter.” But no one moved. Instead, they all just stood there, the heavy tension of depression filling the room. Finally Donny broke the uncomfortable silence.

“I can’t believe Leo’s gone. I always thought he’d go out fighting; probably protecting the rest of us or something stupidly heroic like that. This…just doesn’t seem right.”

“Wait a minute, bros,” Mikey suddenly said. “We don’t know that Leo’s really gone. For all we know his mind he’s just stuck in that little body. I mean, this is Leo we’re talking about. He’s ‘Captain Impossible.’ We can’t just give up on him like this.”

“Come off it, Mikey,” Raphael growled. “You heard Master Frodo. A baby couldn’t handle all the information an adult’s brain holds; it would destroy him.”

“But we’re talking magic here,” Michelangelo interjected. “Sure, scientifically a baby’s brain couldn’t hold all that information. But, scientifically, it’s impossible for a full-grown mutant turtle to be turned back into an infant mutant turtle, too. And I’m not counting Leo out until he shows me he’s not really in there.”

“Michelangelo,” Raphael hissed, but his younger brother simply glared back.

“No,” he said forcefully. “You naysayers can believe what you like. But me and Mikey aren’t going to fall in with your little pity party.” In a move that left his older brothers gaping, the younger turtle scooped the sleeping Leo out of Donny’s arms and cuddled him against his plastron. “Leo doesn’t need to be around this kind of negativity.”

“So from here on out, Michelangelo and I will look after him,” Mikey continued, stepping up beside his twin.

“Brats,” Raphael rumbled, but his younger brothers ignored him. 

“Mikey, Michelangelo,” Donny tried instead. “You don’t have the first clue how to take care of a baby. Especially not a premature baby.”

“Then I guess we’ll learn,” Mikey said, surprising the rest of his family with the new sound of maturity ringing in his voice. “We’re all going to have to learn, anyway. I mean, Gabby’s premature, too. But until the rest of you can get a better attitude, we’re going to be little Leo’s primary caregivers. Now, if you’ll excuse us, I think Master Splinter needs to be introduced, or re-introduced, to the newest additions to the family.”

And with that, the two not-so-immature-anymore set of twins turned and left the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In case it wasn't obvious, Raph was having a conversation with his subconscious. Basically he was arguing with himself.


	9. Who's the Boss?

If the older turtles were expecting Master Splinter to support them in preventing the Brats from assuming responsibility for Leonardo’s care, they were in for a big surprise.

“My sons and students, I do not understand your reluctance in trusting your brothers with the care of you old—er, baby brother,” the elderly rat said, even as he cradled the tiny infant closer to his chest in wonderment. His sons had been quite a bit older than this when he had taken guardianship of them, so this perfect miniature replica of his oldest son was something to marvel at. Forcing his eyes away from the infant in his arms, he looked his older sons in the face. “After all, they quite successfully cared for him before when he was in a, shall we say, fragile condition. They are no strangers to meeting _all_ of his personal needs.”

“But these are the Brats we’re talking about here,” Donatello argued. “I mean, Leo has never been this delicate before. What if they break him?”

“Wait a minute,” Mikey protested. “We’re not gonna break him!”

“Yeah, right,” Raphael growled. “What you two know about taking care of a baby?”

“About as much as you do,” Michelangelo shot back. “So don’t go acting like a bunch of know-it-alls. Sure, Leo’s needs are a little different now, but not that much different. And besides, at least with us he won’t be surrounded by all the negativity you guys were giving off earlier. I may not know much about babies, but I know they need a loving, caring environment.”

“And if I may point out something, my sons,” Master Splinter interjected. “We are all going to have our hands full taking care of two infants full time. While I do not propose allowing Mikey and Michelangelo take full responsibility for your brother, perhaps it would be in everyone’s best interest if they _were_ his primary caregivers. After all, your niece is going to need caring for, too.”

“Master Splinter’s right,” Raph’s voice said from the back of the room, startling his brothers who hadn’t heard him enter the room. “Taking care of Gabby is going to be work enough, so if the Brats want to take Leo on, I say we let them.”

There was something disturbing about the tone of Raph’s voice when he said Leo’s name, but Donatello couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Too tired from the emotional ups and downs of the morning, he just chalked it up to the older turtle being likewise exhausted. Turning back to face his father, he finally said, “Fine. The Brats can take care of Leo. But they have to let us give him regular check-ups. Since both he and Gabby are essentially preemies, it wouldn’t do for them to get sick; they’d have a tough time fighting it off.”

“You got it bro,” Mikey agreed. “It wasn’t like we were gonna keep Leo to ourselves. He’s going to need all of his bros to take care of him until we can figure out if this thing is reversible.”

The matter settled, the six turtles, or eight if you include Gabby and Leo, bowed respectfully to Master Splinter and departed his room. Once they were safely outside, the brother looked at each other with a kind of lost bemusement.

“So,” Donny finally said, breaking the silence. “What do we do now?”

“I suggest we figure out where the hatchlings are going to sleep,” Donatello said. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but I can use some more sleep, and we might as well try to get some now while those two are sleeping.”

“Well, what do you suggest, brainiac,” Raphael said, his voice gruff, but not unkind.

“Well, I guess we can jury-rig something for the time being,” Donny said.

“Uh, that won’t be necessary,” Mikey said rather hesitantly. There was a definite red tinge to his face, and he wouldn’t meet his brothers’ eyes as he said, “You see, after we found out April was pregnant, I sorta’ ordered a crib for here in the Lair. I figured we might need it for when our niece came to visit. I, uh, just haven’t had time to put it together yet.”

“Well, I guess that take care of half of our problem,” Donatello said. “Maybe for the time being we can put both Leo and Gabby in the same crib.”

“Again, I don’t think that will be necessary.” This time it was Michelangelo’s turn to be a bit shamefaced. “The thing is, Ikindaorderedacribtoo.” When it became clear his brothers hadn’t understood his rush of mumbled words, he said a bit more slowly, “I kinda ordered a crib too. Mikey and I didn’t realize we’d been thinking along the same lines until both cribs arrived on the same day. We were going to return one of them, but then April had her baby, and then this happened, and we never had the time.”

The older turtles stared at their younger brother in bemused shock. Finally, Donatello broke out of his stupor enough to say, “Only you two would be able to have such a mess turn into such good luck. That said, why don’t you get these cribs out and we’ll get them assembled. While Donny and I take care of that, why don’t the Brats start a list of baby items we’re going to need around the Lair; you know diapers, bottles, etc? We’ll either make a store run, or have Casey pick the stuff up for us later today. As for Raph and Raphael,” the stopped to look at his two older brothers, only to find Raph had already disappeared. Raphael was still there, but the sour look on his face suggested that any requests would be met with less than good humor. “Well, why don’t we let them head on back to bed. I’m sure we will all have plenty to do now that the family has…shifted once again.” And with no further argument or discussion, the brother split up to carry out their various tasks.


End file.
